Gary Payton had 28 points and 10 assists as the Seattle
SuperSonics erased a 13-point deficit and held on for a 103-101
victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Detlef Schrempf added 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists
for the Sonics, who won for the sixth time in their last seven
games and climbed back within one-half game of Utah for the top
spot in the Western Conference. They also increased their lead
in the Pacific Division over the Los Angeles Lakers to 1 1/2
games.

Coach George Karl earned his 500th win, becoming the
seventh-fastest coach to amass that many victories. He is in
his 10th season and sixth with Seattle.

Michael Finley scored 27 points, but missed a potential
game-winning three-point attempt as time expired. A.C. Green
grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds for the Mavericks, who despite
the loss managed to split the season series with the NBA's
third-best team.

"Every year you have one team that plays the style, has your
number, or had the confidence to play against another team,"
Karl said. "This team has confidence against us, they've shown
it and we are fortunate to be 2-2."

Dallas was within 87-83 with 6:10 left after a bucket by Erick
Strickland, who had 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
But then Seattle heated up from three-point range. Payton
buried a three-pointer with 5:52 remaining, and after another
basket by Strickland, Hersey Hawkins and Schrempf drilled
back-to-back shots from behind the arc to give the Sonics their
largest lead at 96-85 with 4:26 to play.

Seattle was still up 11 after Dale Ellis' basket with 2:48 to
go. But the Mavericks stormed back with the next nine points,
highlighted by Finley's three-point play with 1:47 left.
Strickland followed that with a runner to bring Dallas within
100-98 with 91 seconds to go, but Ellis hit a back-breaking
three-pointer 15 seconds later.

"They played a soft trap and we weren't aggressive," Schrempf
said. "We turned the ball over and took some bad shots. We
still have a ways to go."

Shawn Bradley's tip-in and a free throw by Green cut the deficit
to 103-101 with 43 seconds remaining. Dallas forced Seattle
into a shot-clock violation and got the ball back, but Finley
missed a three-pointer from the wing at the buzzer.

"Somehow we hung around and stayed in the game and actually had
a chance to win it with a three at the end," Dallas coach Don
Nelson said. "They (Seattle) approached it very seriously,
where I didn't think they did last time they were in here.
Tonight they were very serious and we took them right to the
wire. It was one whale of a ballgame. Our best player shooting
the shot we're looking for to win the game, I'll take that every
time."

Dallas led by six points after one quarter and had its largest
lead at 38-25 early in the second period. But the Sonics
outscored the Mavericks, 27-10, over the next eight-plus minutes
behind eight points apiece from Payton and Vin Baker. Payton,
who had 16 points in the first half, had a layup with 16 seconds
remaining in the period to give Seattle a 52-48 lead.

Late in the third quarter, Dallas used a 12-5 spurt to turn a
65-65 tie into a 77-70 advantage after a pair of free throws by
Strickland later in the period.

Ellis finished with 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter
for the Sonics, who shot 48 percent (42-of-88) from the field
and were 10-of-28 (36 percent) from three-point range.

Hubert Davis had 16 points and Bradley had 14 for the Mavericks,
who shot 46 percent (35-of-76) and were 28-of-32 (87.5 percent)
from the foul line. But they once again lost rookie Chris
Anstey to injury. Anstey re-injured his thumb and needed
X-rays, though he does not believe it is broken.